Cultural Properties of the Munakata Region
| Name |
Amida Sutra Stone |
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| Description |
The plank-shaped stone monument, the roof-shaped capstone, and three supporting foundation stones make up this piece, which features a statue of the Amida Buddha seated in meditation in the lotus position on a seat resembling the shape of a lotus flower carved into an indentation in the stone. To the left of the Amida’s lotus flower seat is inscribed the words of prayer for the passing on to the next life of all people and the Chinese Southern Song Dynasty era year (1195), and on the right side the words “Munakata Sir Gudaiji (a misspelling of Daigûji) Munakata Ujikuni.” The theory that this was a gift in return for when The Tale of Heike’s Taira-no-Shigemori donated gold dust to Mt. Aikuou has been widely propagated but the historical reality is that Ujikuni ordered it from Southern Song Dynasty China as a memorial tower. Recent research has also suggested that the stone used here is volcanic rock originating from Ningbo in the Zhejiang Province of China |
| volume / scale / area |
Sculpture Side: 106.4x72.6cm; Amida Sutra Side: 103.6x72.1cm; Right and Left Sides: 106.1x22.5, 106.1x22.1cm |
| Collection |
Munakata Shrine Collection |
| References |
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| Catalog page |
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